This is my mom. She received this award on Saturday night. Some young moms from her "MOPS" group, that she's led for almost 20 years, submitted an article about her to a magazine called "Womeninc." There were four different awards with a winner and another finalist. At the ceremony they shared all the stories about these amazing 8 women. Two stand out in my mind other than my mom. One woman's husband got MS 20 years ago. He is now bed ridden. She has devoted her life to taking care of him while working and being a single parent. Her daughters submitted her name. While they read her story, she had her head down and just cried. I wanted to just run up there and hug her and tell her that she is my hero. Another lady, is 80 some years old. She was widowed at age 50, yet went on to raise her family, work, volunteer, she still makes coffee every day at the senior citizens center for all the "old" people. She walked with a cane and was very shaky. She too, seemed extremely humbled and almost embarrassed to be up on the stage.
These ladies inspire me. They didn't give in to self-pity. They didn't crawl back in their beds when there were things to be taken care of (what I feel like today). Somehow, by the grace of God, they not only survived, they thrived. And they made a difference.
The magazine doesn't even know my mom's whole story. It'd be a book all on it's own. The short version...she grew up in an alcoholic home, was taken out three times and lived with her aunt and uncle several states away. She was the only one out of five kids that had the opportunity to leave. She met my dad at age 13, married him at 16. Raised three little boys in a one room apartment. She didn't have a license until many years later...walked with the three little boys to the grocery store, one on a trike, two in a wagon...all four seasons. There's so much more. I'll continue on another post.
For now..I'm going to move my lazy bum and get going in honor of all the women before me who have overcome obstacles much greater than my own.
8 comments:
How inspiring! Great Blog. I was thinking of taking a nap during Shelby's morning nap today/ she was up 5 times last night/ but now I think I'll get my bum moving too and go scrub something! Thanks for the motivation-
Awesome and inspiring post my dear! Thank you!
Thanks for the post--it made me restless and eager to get on with the good stuff...the rest of my life! : )
p.s. Congratulations to your mom. That's really an honor!
Sheri, give your mommers a hug for me. She truly is a woman of excellence. That post made me feel like clea...oh who am I kidding?
What an honor for your mom. I'm glad you were able to experience that time with her. She sounds like she deserved the award.
So beautiful... thanks for sharing, friend! Your mom has passed on the legacy of being a 'woman of excellence'.
I echo the rest, Sheri. Your mom has passed on the legacy, and you are a true woman of inspiration yourself. I'm thankful for your example of faithfulness in the midst of pain and hardship.
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